The beach: Sunday morning

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

Karal had woken early even for him, slipping quietly out of bed before sunrise and making his way down to the stables.

He perched on a hay bale, drinking tea while Trenor ate his breakfast. He groomed him while that breakfast settled, taking extra care and just enjoying the time with his horse, then turned Trenor out in the stableyard to doze while Karal cleaned his stall.

Leaning on the fence when he was finished, Karal watched him, chuckling when Trenor snorted himself awake. Once he was tacked up, Karal pointed him towards the beach. It was crisp and clean and warm, a perfect day to run, and it wasn't long before they were galloping down the beach, flying over the occasional driftwood log and splashing through the surf.

[ooc: open as a beach is, though I go to sleep soon.]

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[spring-lost.livejournal.com]

Down the beach stood a man.

A large man, in a long coat, bearing a laptop-- nothing out of the ordinary, really. Cable was staring, eyes slightly narrowed, off into the blue yonder.

The laptop? It went unused, shut, under his arm.

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

Karal spotted Cable and slowed, letting Trenor canter in a large circle before trotting towards him. It was fortuitous that he should be here this morning, when Karal had news to be shared. "Good morning," he called, drawing Trenor back to a walk and giving him a loose rein as they got closer. The horse stretched out his neck, blowing at the sand.

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"Good morning, Karal," he returned, his attention pulling- after another second or two-- away from the beach, and his eyes set upon the boy and his horse. "Any news?"

An educated guess, if anything, but he was never much for wasting time, and time wasn´t something he had a lot of, now.

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

He nodded, halting Trenor and dismounting. It was rude to stay mounted when talking to someone, even if they were as tall as Cable.

"There is, yes," he replied. "The information you gave helped a great deal. With it, the mages and artificers were able to determine that there are two waves, and it is the point at which they intersect that the most damage is caused. They believe they have found a way to counter one of those waves by generating a magical force to match it, and to shield against the other." He curved Trenor's reins in one hand, watching his horse nose at a bit of seaweed. "The breakwater falls in a little under three weeks. They cannot stop the storms, but this should prevent disaster." Vkandis willing.

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Something in his upper lip curled up-- but it didn´t make it into Cable´s tone, at least. "Always a good start," he deadpanned, instead, tilting the rest of his body to face Karal. In part.

"How much damage do they expect when these means hold?" There was always a better way-- and it was still far more of a case of dealing with the symptoms than with the cause, by the sounds of it.

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

"Less than if they don't," he ventured, trying to sound light and simply sounding worried. "If the shields hold, much like the aftermath of any huge storm. If they don't..." Karal trailed off, smiling a little as Trenor lifted his head and started whuffling Karal's hair. "Silly horse." He scratched Trenor's cheek, not really looking at Cable. "It will buy more time to find a permanent solution."

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"Permanent solutions are always nice..."

The deadpan came heavy. There was a core of seriousness to it-- and some level of reflection on-- "You might want to look a little deeper into the origins of these storms." His head tilted again, towards the ocean. "Are you going to return to Valdemar to see the means put in place?"

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

Karal lifted his chin. "It's where my duty lies." No matter how much he wanted to stay. "I'll be returning soon, as soon as Altra returns, most likely, though I won't be in Valdemar for long. The place the countering force will be generated is in the heart of the Dhorisha Plains." He concentrated on Trenor, scratching under his forelock. "And we know where they come from now," he said quietly. "Or when, rather. The ancient Cataclysm caused them. They are echoing through time and the planes of magic."

[spring-lost.livejournal.com]

Dhorisha Plains. Right.

He made a mental note.

"Time," Cable echoed, a wry kind of smile wresting its way onto his face despite himself, "is usually a factor..." The horizon suddenly caught his attention like nobody´s business. "Any estimate as to when the echoes will die out?"

He picked his words carefully.

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

"If they are not stopped, possibly never." His shoulders slumped and he leaned on Trenor's shoulder, smoothing down his mane. "At least, not in my lifetime, or in my children's, should I be fortunate enough to have any."

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Hm. That would be a problem...

"Then we´ll just have to make sure they are," Cable countered, with a slight smirk.

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

Karal's eyes narrowed just a little, because that was a very glib answer, and Trenor's ears flicked back, but he didn't say anything, simply nodded and said, "Yes, we will."

[spring-lost.livejournal.com]

Glib.

That was one way of putting it.

He let the narrow pass, seemingly unnoticed, expression falling back to mostly impassive-- even with its hints of openness. "That´s--" Not a promise. He´d done too much damage with promises... and there was no point, here. "An eventuality," he finished.

"I´d promise you luck, but there´s only one person I know who could rely on that..."

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

"No one can promise luck," he said quietly, tugging on one of Trenor's ears. The horse snorted softly and lipped at Karal's shirt, making him smile. "I prefer faith over luck, in any event, and faith must go hand and hand with hard work and sacrifice, or it's meaningless. Whatever it takes is what we will do. Prayer is only one part of that. Luck may play a part, as well, though there are those who say luck is simply another word for the moment when hard work, sacrifice and faith come together."

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"I was always more for faith, myself... and a good level of preparation."

Which was an understatement of epic proportions, really. He nodded, the once.

"But I have a friend who´d disagree." Cable cocked his head. Dryly. "I have to pay her lip service..."

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

Karal looked at him intently for a moment, then nodded. "If you must." Trenor pawed the sand once, looked speculatively at Karal, then did it again.

Karal sighed and shook his head. Trenor stopped, but his ears were curved with mischief. "Thank you for the help you have given us," he told Cable. "I'd best continue on before he decides to dig a second pool here on the beach."

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"Might be a good idea."

Karal got one more, final look-- "G´journey, Karal. May the Bright Mother watch over you."

--and then it was the sea, or perhaps more accurately, what laid far beyond it. "She generally does when you come prepared."

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

"May Vkandis Sunlord guide you to whatever you seek," he said quietly, and swung up onto Trenor's back. "And light your way home again."

With one last look at Cable, he spun Trenor on his heels, and they cantered back down the beach, heading for the Preserve.